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25 To Life

1. Their email system is atrocious. I attached 4 PDFs and 2 Excel files to an email yesterday and both recipients only received 1. This, after I learned I can't use the email system with Flock, and had to use IE, as I can't use it in Mozilla, either.

2. Admin sucks. It's 2 weeks until the end of the semester and I don't know the status of my summer employment, because they're still working out university protocol...again. They never leave it the same for more than 1 year.

3. Blackboard. They use it, it sucks. It's contributing to 3 week delays in my assignments, as my professor doesn't know the problem for that long.

4. The Master's International Program here sucks. It's two halves - one half course work, 1 half Peace Corps service. There's no integration at all, and no indication that my research will even contribute to my Peace Corps' service.

5. Buck-passing. Nobody takes responsibility for their job, so nothing gets done until someone's boss tells them to do their job instead of delegating it through email.

6. Low-caliber students and cowardly professors. The students can't hack the work and whine and the professors cave, at the expense of the rest of us. This appears to be structural, as the people whining all did their undergrads here. The professors are scared to get negative evaluation forms because those things are taken too seriously here, despite often being filled out in spite by students pissed because they weren't "given" an A.

7. I have to worry about the size of my paycheck month to month because the university is always seeking ways to not give us compensation for time worked, knowing full well that as a graduate student you need to work 20+ hours to get your thesis done. But they'll find ways to even chip away at the 20 hours you're entitled to work each week.

8. We haven't won a football game in 2 years. Flava Flav was our MC for 2 straight years on homecoming weekend, while Oprah was across the street for Bennett College's homecoming as their MC. Couldn't we have at least had Arsenio Hall?

I need to do a Ph.D. just so I have some faith left in the American University system.

25 To Life

1. Their email system is atrocious. I attached 4 PDFs and 2 Excel files to an email yesterday and both recipients only received 1. This, after I learned I can't use the email system with Flock, and had to use IE, as I can't use it in Mozilla, either.

2. Admin sucks. It's 2 weeks until the end of the semester and I don't know the status of my summer employment, because they're still working out university protocol...again. They never leave it the same for more than 1 year.

3. Blackboard. They use it, it sucks. It's contributing to 3 week delays in my assignments, as my professor doesn't know the problem for that long.

4. The Master's International Program here sucks. It's two halves - one half course work, 1 half Peace Corps service. There's no integration at all, and no indication that my research will even contribute to my Peace Corps' service.

5. Buck-passing. Nobody takes responsibility for their job, so nothing gets done until someone's boss tells them to do their job instead of delegating it through email.

6. Low-caliber students and cowardly professors. The students can't hack the work and whine and the professors cave, at the expense of the rest of us. This appears to be structural, as the people whining all did their undergrads here. The professors are scared to get negative evaluation forms because those things are taken too seriously here, despite often being filled out in spite by students pissed because they weren't "given" an A.

7. I have to worry about the size of my paycheck month to month because the university is always seeking ways to not give us compensation for time worked, knowing full well that as a graduate student you need to work 20+ hours to get your thesis done. But they'll find ways to even chip away at the 20 hours you're entitled to work each week.

8. We haven't won a football game in 2 years. Flava Flav was our MC for 2 straight years on homecoming weekend, while Oprah was across the street for Bennett College's homecoming as their MC. Couldn't we have at least had Arsenio Hall?

I need to do a Ph.D. just so I have some faith left in the American University system.

<( ' . ' )>

1. So does my school email.
2. EVERY university in the world has shitty administration. Fact is you just have to find ways around it. There are ways, though. Talk to a program director or someone.
3. Blackboard is crap but you just have to get used to it. Avoid it if you can.
4. Did they not explain this when they gave you the program description?
5. That's everywhere you go.
6. Why don't you speak up about this?
7. This one gets to me. At least you get funding. Some schools, mostly the prestigious schools in North America, don't even offer funding for MAs, only for Ph.Ds.
8. My school's football team has the longest losing streak in history. 48 games in a row. Yup.
9. Tapioca pudding is atrocious.

<( ' . ' )>

1. So does my school email.
2. EVERY university in the world has shitty administration. Fact is you just have to find ways around it. There are ways, though. Talk to a program director or someone.
3. Blackboard is crap but you just have to get used to it. Avoid it if you can.
4. Did they not explain this when they gave you the program description?
5. That's everywhere you go.
6. Why don't you speak up about this?
7. This one gets to me. At least you get funding. Some schools, mostly the prestigious schools in North America, don't even offer funding for MAs, only for Ph.Ds.
8. My school's football team has the longest losing streak in history. 48 games in a row. Yup.
9. Tapioca pudding is atrocious.

25 To Life

Keb wrote:1. So does my school email.2. EVERY university in the world has shitty administration. Fact is you just have to find ways around it. There are ways, though. Talk to a program director or someone.3. Blackboard is crap but you just have to get used to it. Avoid it if you can.4. Did they not explain this when they gave you the program description?5. That's everywhere you go.6. Why don't you speak up about this?7. This one gets to me. At least you get funding. Some schools, mostly the prestigious schools in North America, don't even offer funding for MAs, only for Ph.Ds.8. My school's football team has the longest losing streak in history. 48 games in a row. Yup.9. Tapioca pudding is atrocious.

If you don't like it, you can always leave and go somewhere else.

1. I miss MSU's email. Bare-bones and HUGE. I never had any problems, outside of SPAM.
2. Even the Chair of my dept. is frustrated with it, as is my advisor. It's structural, and we all believe it's a result of cronyism.
3. I have an online class. 4. Nope.
5. Wasn't that way in gov't. Amazingly. Though, I wasn't in a political office.
6. I have, to two professors, and nothing's happened. I'd fight it but I have shit to do.
7. I wouldn't consider it funding. It barely covers my bills, enough so that I have a second job, which I'd work full-time if not for this job. But it's a little better pay.
8. We'll get there.
9. Never had it.
10. Our school is two miles across and most people drive from one side of campus to the other rather than walk. I hate being almost hit on my bike from cars that don't recognize me as a legitimate driver. Nowhere else in town does this happen to me, and in some parts, I even have a bike lane. Fancy.

As for leaving, I'm $120K in student loan debt and leaving would probably leave me with no viable way to pay that off anytime soon, and Sallie Mae/the gov't would have me by the balls more than they already do. Can't a guy bitch?

25 To Life

Keb wrote:1. So does my school email.2. EVERY university in the world has shitty administration. Fact is you just have to find ways around it. There are ways, though. Talk to a program director or someone.3. Blackboard is crap but you just have to get used to it. Avoid it if you can.4. Did they not explain this when they gave you the program description?5. That's everywhere you go.6. Why don't you speak up about this?7. This one gets to me. At least you get funding. Some schools, mostly the prestigious schools in North America, don't even offer funding for MAs, only for Ph.Ds.8. My school's football team has the longest losing streak in history. 48 games in a row. Yup.9. Tapioca pudding is atrocious.

If you don't like it, you can always leave and go somewhere else.

1. I miss MSU's email. Bare-bones and HUGE. I never had any problems, outside of SPAM.
2. Even the Chair of my dept. is frustrated with it, as is my advisor. It's structural, and we all believe it's a result of cronyism.
3. I have an online class. 4. Nope.
5. Wasn't that way in gov't. Amazingly. Though, I wasn't in a political office.
6. I have, to two professors, and nothing's happened. I'd fight it but I have shit to do.
7. I wouldn't consider it funding. It barely covers my bills, enough so that I have a second job, which I'd work full-time if not for this job. But it's a little better pay.
8. We'll get there.
9. Never had it.
10. Our school is two miles across and most people drive from one side of campus to the other rather than walk. I hate being almost hit on my bike from cars that don't recognize me as a legitimate driver. Nowhere else in town does this happen to me, and in some parts, I even have a bike lane. Fancy.

As for leaving, I'm $120K in student loan debt and leaving would probably leave me with no viable way to pay that off anytime soon, and Sallie Mae/the gov't would have me by the balls more than they already do. Can't a guy bitch?

King of Circle-Jerking

Keb wrote:Sure you can bitch, but I'd expect you to do more than bitch. You need to tell them this stuff.

Exactly. We do not exist without students such as yourself. Unfortunately, the servant mentality isn't as pervasive as it should be, students are our bread and butter. Finding way to better serve them should be our primary goal.

King of Circle-Jerking

Keb wrote:Sure you can bitch, but I'd expect you to do more than bitch. You need to tell them this stuff.

Exactly. We do not exist without students such as yourself. Unfortunately, the servant mentality isn't as pervasive as it should be, students are our bread and butter. Finding way to better serve them should be our primary goal.

25 To Life

In indicative news, my professor told me to NOT deal with our secretary anymore and to go straight to the Admin building about summer employment. She's not his secretary, but the dept.'s, but he's pretty tired of her shenanigans.

25 To Life

In indicative news, my professor told me to NOT deal with our secretary anymore and to go straight to the Admin building about summer employment. She's not his secretary, but the dept.'s, but he's pretty tired of her shenanigans.

Outhouse Editor

L'Indépendant wrote:In indicative news, my professor told me to NOT deal with our secretary anymore and to go straight to the Admin building about summer employment. She's not his secretary, but the dept.'s, but he's pretty tired of her shenanigans.

Outhouse Editor

L'Indépendant wrote:In indicative news, my professor told me to NOT deal with our secretary anymore and to go straight to the Admin building about summer employment. She's not his secretary, but the dept.'s, but he's pretty tired of her shenanigans.